Tales of Interest
by Frexspar69
Summary: Raine builds a 'WhatIf Machine' and everyone in the cast asks it questions! First up is Presea...


**Tales of Interest**

(I do not own Namco Tales Ltd., Tales of Symphonia, Namco, or any related ideas, characters, locations, etc. associated with the afore-mentioned companies. Any and all additional material unrelated to Namco has been _italicized _to disclaim ownership. If you have any questions regarding copyrighted material, please email me and I'll contact you as soon as I can)

Okay, I've finally got a new computer and an Internet connection, so I've decided to return to my old pastime: FanFiction! (thunderous cheers and applause from readers). I'm planning on writing some stories about several different titles, including _Ender's Game_, _Chobits_, and maybe even a little bit of _That 70's Show_. But I figured I should start with the title I left off with on my last account: _Tales of Symphonia_.

My previous stories have been so completely random and stupid that, looking back, I don't see what I found humorous in them. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf with this one. It might have a hint of randomness to it, but I'm really trying to focus on keeping character personality traits intact instead of merely throwing them out the window like I used to.

WARNING: This story includes a number of spoilers, so I wouldn't read it unless you've gotten as far as…the end of the game. And if you want to learn about all of the end-of-game side-quests for yourself, then I would stop reading right now.

Chapter 1: The What-If Machine OR Presea's Lost Time

Raine Sage entered the dining room of Zelos' mansion wheeling in a lumpy mass underneath an off-white tarp. Her seven companions were already assembled around the dining table, chatting animatedly. Raine called the room to order with the classic 'spoon-to-glass' signal. "It's finally done!" Raine announced to the rest of the group, "I've finally completed my invention!"

"That's great and all, but shouldn't we hurry up and get rid of Mithos?" Genis asked reasonably. "We've got the Eternal Sword and we've rescued Colette, so what's stopping us? Why did we turn around and go back in the first place, anyway? We haven't done anything since then!"

Genis had a good point. The eight companions (Lloyd, Genis, Colette, Raine, Sheena, Presea, Zelos, and Regal) had teleported to Derris-Kharlan, killed a giant black dragon, opened the final door, and then they had turned around and gone back to Tethe'alla. In the six months that followed, they had done nothing more to prepare for the final battle. They had all found new clothes, met a Summon Spirit that wouldn't form a pact with them, and made a book of figurines. The only combat-related task they had completed was dying in the coliseum, and that didn't improve their fighting skills much.

"Genis, we had to turn back so I could get a speed-o in Altamira!" Zelos responded cheerfully, currently wearing the speed-o in question.

"I would slap you if I wasn't so afraid of being near that thing…" said Sheena, gagging slightly.

"Seriously, Zelos, that thing is disgusting. Take it of—NO! Don't! Put some pants on or something! Just don't take it off!" Lloyd said.

"You shouldn't wear it so often. It isn't something women find attractive," said Regal.

"Approximate percentage of women attracted to speed-o's…less than 0.35 percent," said Presea.

"Aww, come on! My sweet little Colette likes my speed-o! Remember?" said Zelos.

**FLASHBACK…**

_Altamira. Zelos is wearing his speed-o for the first time when Colette walks by and notices him…_

_"That's a pretty swimsuit! I wish I had one like that…" Colette said with envy, eyeing her own beach attire with disgust. "Hey Zelos, where's your top?"_

_"It…doesn't have one. This is a guy's swimsuit," said Zelos._

_"Really? Oh…I'm sorry. Never mind," said a confused Colette as she walked away._

**END FLASHBACK**

"I'm sorry, Zelos. I meant that I would've liked to have one for me to wear, not that it looked good on you. Plus, it didn't have a top. I'm sorry," said Colette apologetically.

"Why would Colette need a top…?" Genis wondered aloud with genuine curiosity. Sheena smacked him upside the head. "Oww! I didn't do anything! Why'd you hit me?"

"Shut up, Genis! You're such a pervert!" Sheena yelled, smacking Genis once more.

"B-but I just wondered why…" Genis stammered.

"Hey! I thought I was the pervert…" Zelos whimpered pathetically.

"No, Zelos, you're still a pervert. You just don't imagine girls without tops on!" said Sheena, glaring daggers at Genis. "And put some clothes on!"

"I'm sorry to cause so much trouble…" said Colette.

"That's okay, it wasn't your fault," said Sheena.

"Actually, Sheena, I sometimes imagine—" Zelos started, but was interrupted by a swift slap in the face from Raine.

"Quiet! All of you!" Raine commanded, and all was silent. "Thank you. Now if you'll all sit still for a moment and listen to me, I'll be able to introduce you to my latest creation." She removed the tarp from her creation, saying, "Voila! Behold my latest and greatest invention, the What-If Machine!"

There was an interlude during which the party ooh-ed and aah-ed at the machine. "What does it do?" asked an intrigued Lloyd.

"First, you ask it a question beginning with 'What if' and then it displays the alternate reality that would result from your question becoming fact using the visual display screen," Raine answered.

"Oh, I see..." Lloyd lied.

"You ask it a question and it answers it," Genis paraphrased.

"All right! Maybe it can help me with my math homework!" said Lloyd with excitement.

"No, it doesn't work that way. Your question must begin with 'What if'." Raine explained.

"Ah, I'm getting all confused again!" Lloyd groaned.

"Perhaps a demonstration would be helpful?" Regal suggested.

"A marvelous suggestion!" Raine declared, "Does anyone have a question they would like answered?"

After yet another silent interlude, Presea broke the ice. "I…have a question I would like to ask the machine," she said timidly.

"Excellent! Let's hear it!" Raine encouraged.

"Well, ah…I'd like to know what would have happened to my family had we not gotten mixed up with Rodyle and his Exsphere experiments," replied Presea.

Raine now spoke to her machine, "What if Exspheres had never interfered with Presea's childhood?" After a moment of static, the machine's monitor lit up, revealing the town of Ozette before it was destroyed by Cruxis.

"Ozette…" Presea said with wide-eyed astonishment.

The screen now focused upon a large house at the bottom of a hill. It was Presea's house, but it was less dilapidated and more colorful than Presea had ever remembered it to be. The house appeared pleasant and inviting as opposed to the cold moth-eaten disaster that inhabited her memories.

A teenage girl emerged from the house with long pink hair and a backpack slung over her shoulders. Presea could barely recognize herself on the screen. She must have been about sixteen, and she had never been physically sixteen years old in her life. At last she would get to see her lost time…

The onscreen Presea had a hairbrush in one hand and a piece of toast in the other. She was haphazardly attempting to eat the toast and brush her hair at once, but she was fighting a losing battle. The toast probably came into contact with her hair more than the brush did.

She zigzagged her way up the hill and through the town, to a small schoolhouse in an isolated corner of the town (in the future it would be replaced by a hotel when most of the parents chose to personally home school their children).

Taking her seat, she sat the toast down on her desk and could at last focus on brushing her wet hair. Once she had completed that task, she stared at her toast with a forlorn look. It was disgusting and wet from her hair and felt slimy under her fingers. Presea shuddered and threw the toast in a nearby garbage bin. So much for breakfast.

Just as she was wondering where and when she would get something else to eat, the door opened. Presea turned around in her seat expecting to see her teacher, Mrs. Sanford, but what she saw instead blew her mind.

The boy walking in was gorgeous. He walked in slow-motion, his flowing brown hair blew in some magical nonexistent wind and dreamy violins played a romantic song in the background. The boy ran to her and called out her name, "Presea! Presea! My one and only! Presea!" As Presea called back to him she knew his name to be Albert, and as she ran to him and embraced him, she heard his beautiful voice say…

"Ah…thank you?" The boy felt considerably awkward and confused. He had just been called Albert, although his name was Calvin, and an attractive girl had run up to him and hugged him. He didn't know what to say, but he was already thoroughly enjoying his first day of school.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry, Albert. I didn't realize that, uh, well…" Presea's voice trailed off.

"My name's not Albert," he said with a small laugh, "It's Calvin, and I think you're confusing me with someone else."

"I see…" said Presea. She waited. Was he going to sit down or just stand there?

"Ahm…could you please let go of me?" Calvin asked politely. Presea quickly released him and hurried back to her seat. She hadn't realized that she was still holding him in her arms. The entire class must've seen that! What a fool she had been!

**20 years later…**

Lloyd Irving walked into the village of Ozette with his five companions. "Hey! That's me! How'd I get in there?" the real Lloyd asked in bewilderment.

"The machine is now showing what would happen to the rest of us in this given circumstance," said Raine.

The onscreen party had made their way to the village square. "Remind me again why we came here?" said an annoyed Zelos.

"It's on the way to Altessa's House, and we need to stop for supplies," Lloyd responded, but Zelos wasn't paying attention anymore. He had wandered off to examine a group of nearby women. "Fine! Whatever, Zelos!"

"I think it'd be a good idea to stay the night here, since we ran into that Sword Dancer thing on the way out of Mizuho. I'm pretty beat, and Raine's dead," said Sheena.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Lloyd agreed. "Okay then! Colette and I will carry Raine to the hotel and Genis, Sheena, and Zelos will restock on supplies."

"Come on! Why do I have to be with Zelos?" Genis complained.

"I agree! I'm not going shopping with that pervert! Who knows what he'd try to pull!" said Sheena. Everyone glanced over at Zelos, who was receiving a boot in the face from our good friend Calvin for hitting on Presea.

"Fine, fine! Sheena and Colette will take Raine to the hotel and Zelos, Genis, and I will go shopping," Lloyd compromised.

"How come I have to stay with Zelos?" Genis repeated.

"You know as well as I do that you can't lift Raine," Lloyd reasoned, "Okay! We'll all meet back here in fifteen minutes!"

Zelos staggered to his feet and rejoined the group. Everyone (excluding Raine) set off to complete their appointed task. Lloyd's group entered the store on top of the village, where they happened upon a blue-haired man in a business suit whom Zelos seemed to know.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Zelos asked the man.

"Perhaps," the man said, "My name is Regal Bryant. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"It sure sounds familiar…" said Lloyd.

"Yeah! I saw you at one of the princess's birthday parties!" Zelos recalled, "You're the duke, aren't you?"

"Yes. And you're a wanted criminal, are you not?" Regal asked (oh irony).

"Well, I, ah…" Zelos stuttered.

"Zelos, you dope!" Genis exclaimed.

Regal sighed. "I won't report you. I came here with my wife, Alicia, to escape my hectic life for a week or so. We are visiting her family here, so please do not disturb us."

The three young men felt relieved, yet their contentedness was broken by an angry Calvin barging into the shop with the Pope's bodyguards. "That's them! The wanted criminals!" Calvin called. Evidently he had recognized Zelos from a wanted poster after kicking him in the face.

"Not the Pope again…" Zelos muttered.

"Why do they always show up where we're going?" Lloyd wondered aloud.

"Dammit, I thought I could escape my busy life!" Regal shouted. But it couldn't be helped. He knocked out both Lloyd and Zelos because they were armed with swords, leaving Genis conscious with the boy's plastic toy.

The Pope's men apprehended all three of our heroes, and upon their exit from the shop, Genis chanced one look at Presea standing behind Calvin looking frightened. She called out one word, "Albert!" and the screen went blank.

"Well…I guess that's what would have happened to everyone," said Raine.

"That isn't quite what I expected…" said Presea.

"That Calvin guy was a jerk! Did you see how he kicked by beautiful face?" said Zelos.

"Yeah! Who did that Calvin guy think he was, anyway?" Genis angrily agreed.

"What was the deal with that 'Albert' thing?" Sheena wondered.

"Can you believe that I was on the screen? That's so cool!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"You all must know that I would never do that given the current circumstances," said Regal.

"Hey! I'm still wearing my speed-o!" Zelos cried out in joy.

"QUIET!" screamed Raine, "Now, for the next question…"

Did you guys like it? I know I went a little off-character with the whole Albert thing, but I was trying to find a way to lighten up the mood and get out of the whole 'descriptive' mode. And other than Presea, I think I kept everyone else mostly in character. And the real Presea stayed in character the whole time!

Oh, and I'm taking suggestions for the next chapter for who should ask a question and what they should ask. Just suggestions, I might end up using something I've come up with on my own. I'm already thinking of something for the next chapter. Thanks for reading!


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